Bickster · B2C · small app studio
Sell lifetime access instead of subscriptions unless the app has real running costs
Works well across their apps; subscriptions drew complaints on one
Workedpricing
What they did
Most Bickster apps sell lifetime access. Use lifetime unless the app has real recurring costs (e.g. heavy AI API usage); low-AI-usage apps like the Bible app can still do lifetime. On the Bible app, subscriptions generated support complaints.
What happened
Lifetime 'works so well right now' across their apps.
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Turn a $5.99 paid app into a free download with a subscriptionRevenue jumped from ~$200/day to ~$2,000/day overnight
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Offer $59.99 lifetime or $39.99/year with a 3-day trial on a closable paywall~6% of installs buy; best revenue per 1,000 users of the variants tested
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Keep installs about half organic, half paid; fund only channels returning 2-3xOn track for ~110K MRR
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Use Apple Search Ads only if the cost per install fits your numbersBest paid channel for this app; too pricey for many of their others
- Fitbit to Apple Health Sync: Run Google and Bing search ads and feed sales back to them every nightTwo of the three main paid channels; Bing small but profitable
- Bickster: Test a one-screen landing page against sending search clicks straight to the App StoreDepends on the app; no general rule
- Test lifetime prices from $4.99 up to $49.99 at fixed ad spend to find the ceiling$29.99 beat $49.99 on day-one revenue; a later $39.99 now beats $29.99
- Bickster: Build quick AI-coded versions of several app ideas; keep the one that sells
- Chatster: Spin off an AI Bible app for chat users who asked religious questionsSold at $29.99 lifetime with little effort; ads near break-even
- Launch with a hard paywall, one offer and no free trialOne offer gave the clearest pricing lessons
- Test with exact-keyword Apple Search Ads, then scale on MetaMeta converted even better than Apple Search Ads
- Bickster: Set Meta ads to find buyers, not installs, and test videos at ~$500/dayInstall-to-purchase rose from ~6% to ~18-20%
- Title the App Store page with plain search terms and put the brand last
- Test app icons first, including wildly different versionsGuest says icons move conversion most; no numbers
- Bickster: Test dropping the onboarding screens entirelyNo onboarding won in several apps; even one welcome screen hurt
- Bickster: Use Adapty to change prices and paywalls without an app update
- Chatster: Show one offer on the paywall with a 'view all plans' link
- Bickster: Lay out paywall plans side by side instead of stacked~2 points higher conversion (guest unsure of the exact number)
- Bickster: Skip paid attribution tools; use Meta's own numbers, in-house tracking and Mixpanel
- Put a hard paywall with one lifetime price on an app ranking in search
- Run Meta ads at ~$150/day for a fitness app for people 65+Nobody bought after $3-5K; buyers came from App Store search